A native of Detroit, Michigan, Dr. Vince Patton served as the Eighth Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard from May 1998 until his retirement from more than 30 years of active service in November 2002. He became the first African American to reach the rank of Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard. As the service’s top senior-ranking enlisted leader and ombudsman during that period, Master Chief Patton was the principal advisor to the Commandant of the Coast Guard, his directorates, and the Secretaries of Transportation and Defense, with primary focus on quality-of-life, career development, work environment and personnel matters affecting over 45,000 active duty, reserve, and civilian personnel service wide. He routinely addressed those specific issues before appropriate Senate and House committees in Congress, and the Commander in Chief, along with his senior-ranking enlisted counterparts of the other armed services.
Master Chief Patton’s illustrious military career included staff and operational assignments throughout the country, both afloat and ashore throughout the United States along with a joint military service assignment in Cuba and Haiti. Among his numerous military awards includes the Distinguished Service Medal which is the nation’s highest military peace time recognition for performance of duty.
Master Chief Patton received his Doctor of Education degree from the American University, Washington, DC where his dissertation was on the development and implementation of the Coast Guard Enlisted Evaluation System. In addition, he earned a Master of Arts degree Counseling Psychology from Loyola University, Chicago, IL; a Master of Theology degree from Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, CA; and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Communications from Pacific College, Angwin, CA. His military education includes is the U.S. Coast Guard Chief Petty Officer Academy, U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy (with distinction), and the Department of Defense Equal Opportunity Management Institute.
He accomplished the rank of Eagle Scout and was also a former Naval Sea Cadet during his high school years. He was selected as an Olympic Torchbearer for the 2002 Winter Olympics. In 2019, he was inducted in the Michigan Military Veterans Hall of Honor. He received an Honorary Doctorate in Public Service from Southern New Hampshire University in 2019. In November 2021 he was awarded the Rear Admiral J. Robert Lunney Patriot Award by the Navy League of the United States. He has also been named as one of the top 250 distinguished veterans by the Department of Veteran Affairs and was the Grand Marshal for the 2022 New York City and 2023 Detroit Veterans Day parades. He was also honored by the Detroit Lions as the ‘Hometown Hero’ for 2023. A scholarship has been named in his honor for JROTC cadets at his alma mater, Cass Technical High School, Detroit, MI.
Currently, he is President of Northeast Maritime Institute (NMI) Foundation. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Northeast Maritime Institute College of Maritime Science, Fairhaven, MA, teaching Introduction to Public Speaking, Leadership and Ethics courses. He is actively involved with several other public service and nonprofit organizations serving on boards with the National Coast Guard Museum, U.S. Naval Sea Cadet Corps, Veterans Justice Commission, Uniformed Services Benefit Association, and the Association for Rescue at Sea.
Morgan graduated from George Washington University in Spring 2018 with a bachelor’s degree in international Affairs and a concentration in Conflict Resolution. In Spring 2023, he received his Master of Public Administration from American University’s Key Executive Leadership Program.
In the summer of 2016, he completed a summer internship at the State Department in the OES Bureau’s Office of Policy and Public Outreach. Since the summer of 2017, Morgan has served part-time as Captain aboard S/V Fritha, a traditionally rigged brigantine. In 2018, Morgan was a Fellow of Nautical Science at Tabor Academy, teaching nine Nautical Science courses in various subjects. Since 2018, Morgan has also served as the Director of International Relations for the Dominica Maritime Registry. Since 2023, he has served as the Chief Operating Officer of the Northeast Maritime Institute.
Cassidy R. Correia is a fourth year medical student at the University of New England College of Osteopathic Medicine. Her interest lies in primarily in hospital medicine, where she hopes to be able to advocate for equitable care and improve access to resources. Throughout her studies, Cassidy became involved within her community by volunteering at the local food pantry and soup kitchen.
Cassidy worked for Northeast Maritime Institute as an intern from May 2013 to August 2018. She worked to build the primary structure of courses in an online software so that the Institute is able to offer online and blended courses. In addition, Cassidy also serves as the Foundation’s secretary and Vice Chair.
Dr. Angela Dawicki currently serves as the Chief Academic Officer of Northeast Maritime Institute College of Maritime Science. Northeast Maritime Institute has offered U.S. Coast Guard approved courses for over twenty-eight years, including continuing education courses and a two-year Applied Nautical Science program, which allows students to qualify for U.S. Coast Guard licensing while obtaining their Associate’s Degree. Dr. Dawicki obtained her Doctorate in Higher Education Administration degree from Northeastern University in 2020. She also holds a Bachelor of Science in Biomedical Engineering degree and a Master of Science in Biomedical Engineering degree from Tulane University.
As Chief Academic Officer, Dr. Dawicki is responsible for oversight and management of program curriculum, program evaluation, external approvals, faculty, student support and student achievement. Dr. Dawicki led the Institute through its initial accreditation with the Accrediting Council of Career Schools and Colleges from 2020 through 2023, resulting in the granting of accredited status in early 2023. Dr. Dawicki has been the lead contact with the U.S. Coast Guard’s National Maritime Center for over 25 years.
Dr. Dawicki participates on the Board of Admissions, Financial Aid Committee, Scholarship Committee as well as the Institute Alliance. Dr. Dawicki is a member of the Board of Trustees and participates on the finance and academic advisory committees.
Hannah E. Dawicki is the Director of Digital Operations at the Northeast Maritime Institute, the Director of Digital Project Management at the Center for Ocean Policy and Economics (COPE°), and the Chairwoman of the Northeast Maritime Institute Foundation.
Hannah graduated from American University in Washington, D.C., in 2020, where she received a Bachelor in International Studies with a minor in Communications. Hannah’s studies were focused on global equality and development, sustainability and global peace and security.
In the summer of 2019, Hannah completed an internship at the Atlantic Treaty Association (ATA) in Brussels, Belgium, where she conducted research on the activities of NATO and compiled the ATA's Annual Report. In the spring of 2020, Hannah completed an internship in the Atlantic Council's Global Energy Sector, where she assisted in compiling current events, organizing Atlantic Council events, and reporting on those events. From 2018 to 2021, Hannah was a Catalyzer for the non-profit Rockflower, where she aided in generating annual plans for supporting Rockflower and Rockflower partner initiatives and ran fundraising events.
Mr. Eric R. Dawicki, MPA has served as the President and Chief Executive Officer of Northeast Maritime Institute since 1995. He also currently serves as the Commonwealth of Dominica International Maritime Registry President and CEO. He has served in both the United States Coast Guard Reserve and the United States Merchant Marine. He attended Arkansas State University and The American University.
During his tenure at Northeast Maritime Institute, Mr. Dawicki has been responsible for overseeing its growth from an exam preparation facility to a full-service Maritime Education and Training Institution, providing quality education to mariners at all levels. He created a vision and follow through for NMI to become the first private maritime college in the United States and has recently developed the concept and architecture the most comprehensive online learning management system in the world for mariners to receive compliance training for the International Convention on Standards of Training and Certification for Watchkeepers and Seafarer’s (STCW).
Mr. Dawicki has advised numerous shipping companies, government agencies and industry associations on regulatory trends and compliance programs. Mr. Dawicki is regarded as a leader of industry and has also participated on numerous delegations at IMO Committee meetings and subcommittee meetings annually since 1996. He continues to serve as the lead delegate on Government delegations to the United Nations’ International Maritime Organization (IMO).
As President of the Commonwealth of Dominica Maritime Registry, a full-service International Ship Registry, Mr. Dawicki is responsible for overseeing all vessel-related services, including technical, statutory, inspection, registration, corporate and manning certification services. This includes the implementation of international regulatory and legal instruments as they apply to each vessel, its crew and its owners and operators.
Mr. Dawicki has been a member of the Board of Governors and an Executive Governor for the IMO’s World Maritime University in Malmo, Sweden and served as the Chairman of the 30 year Feasibility Study on behalf of the International Maritime Organization. Mr. Dawicki also sits on the Board of Trustees for the United States Coast Guard Foundation as a “Lifetime Trustee” or Emeritus Trustee. He previously served on the Board of Directors for the American Sail Training Association and was Co-Chairman of the Board. He was also an Executive Committee Member of the Board of Directors for the International Maritime Lecturers Association through 2001, a World Maritime University industry association. Mr. Dawicki also served a full tenure as a member of the United States Maritime Security Advisory Committee post 9/11 under both the Bush and Obama Administrations.
Lauren is a recent graduate from The New School in New York, NY with a BA diploma in The Arts with a dual concentration in Visual Studies and Culture and Media with a minor in Museum and Curatorial Studies.
While in New York, Lauren worked at two art galleries, where she played a key role in preparing and organizing exhibitions and events. She utilized social and digital marketing strategies to promote these events and coordinated closely with artists. Additionally, Lauren was involved in the curation and installation processes, contributing to the overall success of each event.
Since then, Lauren has been working with the Northeast Maritime Institute's Media Department, where she specializes in digital marketing and social media management. Additionally, she contributes to course development for the institute's online learning platform, NEMO°. In her role as Director of Exam Monitoring at Halo Exams, Lauren oversees the automated remote exam proctoring system, ensuring a secure and ethical online examination environment.
